If a freshman athlete comes into a university and immediately starts to contribute, a coach is going to be pleased.
But, if two freshmen come in and make an impact, a coach would think he or she is dreaming.
Wake up Coach Shannon West, this is not a dream.
The Saint Louis University field hockey team has two freshmen who are already showcasing their talents.
Megan Weisenberger and Carin Boone, both Ohio natives, have come into the program and have started to contribute. Over the weekend, each girl scored two goals en route to a 7-0 victory over Rhodes College.
But success isn’t something new to either of the girls.
Weisenberger decided to play field hockey in high school because “it was something different and I knew I wasn’t a soccer girl.”
She played the back position mostly in high school, until she was moved to forward, where she excelled and became the team’s leading scorer. Since coming to SLU, she’s had to make some adjustments.
“Practice is a lot more intense,” Weisenberger said. “I need to work more on just the basics because of the switch from grass to turf.”
The intense practices and the switch to turf seem to be going well. She has established herself as a starter and a legitimate scorer, and has done so because she is having fun.
“It’s great playing with girls who want to play, not just with girls who play for the social aspect. Here (at SLU) everyone loves to play,” Weisenberger said.
But she knows how quickly that fun can fade, and she’s learned how to handle it.
“I’ve learned to just keep going. You may hit walls, but just keep going or you’re never going to get there,” Weisenberger said.
She’s gotten to SLU and has been knocking down some walls, along with her friend and teammate, Boone.
When she was looking at colleges last year, Boone knew she wanted to play a Division I sport.
“I never really thought I would stop playing sports because I played them my whole life and field hockey is what I’m good at,” Boone said.
Like Weisenberger, Boone knows she has to make adjustments and continue to work hard.
“I think I could work on more accurate and stronger passes to my teammates. I need to use my head a little more on the field,” Boone said.
While she’s working on those aspects of her game, she’s excelling in all the other areas, mostly due to her game day preparation.
“I am a little more internally focused on the positive and picture myself doing good things,” said Boone.
Even though the field hockey season is in full swing now, West is probably still pinching herself to make sure she isn’t dreaming.
And if Weisenberger and Boone continue to play the way they have begun their careers as Billikens, they are going to start giving their opponents nightmares.
